UAE flights: Rapid Covid test rule ends for India, Pakistan flyers; expats relieved

UAE flights: Rapid Covid test rule ends for India, Pakistan flyers; expats relieved

UAE flights: Expats relieved by move to scrap rapid Covid PCR test requirement for India, Pakistan passengers

Airlines have been updating travel requirements online today.

Published: Tue 22 Feb 2022, 2:44 PM

Indian and Pakistani expats in the UAE have been hailing the move to scrap the rapid Covid-19 PCR test at some specific departure airports for Dubai-bound passengers.

This comes after an updated circular sent to travel agents and airlines, which is effective from February 22, delineates that authorities have not specified the requirement for the rapid test at the exiting airports for travellers from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka within six hours of the flight.

Responding to this news, Dubai expats from the sub-continent have heaved a sigh of relief, highlighting that this finally marks a return to a semblance of normalcy.

Pakistani expat in Dubai, Naila Khan who was stuck in her hometown (Karachi) for six months before she returned to Dubai in September 2021 opines, “I was jumping with joy when I read the news online this afternoon. I had a harrowing experience with my two children at the Karachi airport in the middle of 2021 when I was stuck there, desperately trying to come back. At that time there was